AL exec: Rangers' Josh Hamilton will get $30 million a year on free agent market

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Fans could the waning day of Josh Hamilton in a Ranger uniform. The former AL MVP will become baseball's biggest free agent at the end of the season, and many are expecting a bidding war to break out for his services.

The Rangers have maintained their interest in keeping Hamilton around, but they've also proved willing to walk away from big-name commodities when the price gets too high. In fact, they've done it in each of the past two offseasons when Cliff Lee and C.J. Wilson signed elsewhere.

And if one AL executive's prediction comes true, they might be waving goodbye to Hamilton shortly.

CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman spoke with the anonymous exec to get a feel for how much money the top free agents could be worth come winter. The exec predicted Hamilton would sign a five-year, $150 million contract, which works out to an average annual value of $30 million per season.

"That $30-million-a-year guarantee would represent a record, eclipsing Alex Rodriguez's
$275 million, 10-year contract (though A-Rod also has $30 million in
historic homer bonuses)," Heyman wrote. "Considering the talent, that guess may not be
too far off. Hamilton is said to want to be paid like an elite player,
and he probably will be, though it's hard to imagine him getting the
length of the Joey Votto, Albert Pujols or Prince Fielder deals considering Hamilton's history. Even in another brilliant year
(42 home runs, 123 RBI), he's had bouts with a sinus headache and
chewing tobacco."

Heyman points out that the Rangers have also been hesitant to sign player to excessively long deals recently, meaning that any extension for Hamilton likely wouldn't reach into a seven- or eight-year commitment. In fact, Heyman quoted a "source in the know" who said the Rangers likely would only be willing to sign Hamilton for five years "if that."